Automatic music-leaf turner



(No Model.)

J. H. SOUTHWELL & A. J. LLOYD.

AUTOMATIC MUSIC LEAF TURNER.

P I 1 1 I I a iz qntedApr 6 1895 IOI \X 'T fl' UNITED STATES JAMES H.SOUTI-IWELL AND ANDREW .I. LLOYD, OF ROCK ISLAND, ILLINOIS.

PATENT OFFICE.

AUTOMATIC MUSIC-LEAF TURNER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 537,653, dated April16, 1 89 5.

Application filed July 5, 1894. Serial No, 516,545. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JAMES H. SOUTHWELL and ANDREW J. LLOYD, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Rock Island, in the county of Rock Islandand State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Automatic Music-Leaf Turner, of which the following is a specification.

The object of our invention is to afford facilities for the rapid andeasy turning of such sheets of music by the musician while playing. Weattain this object by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which Figure 1 is a vertical or front view of the entiremachine or contrivance. Fig. 2 is a side view of the same. Fig. 3 is adetail side view of that part of the machine showing the operation ofthe handles a and o with reference to separating and closing the rods 1"r. Fig. 4 represents a detail view of the tube m and showing therestraining catch and escapement N and the manner of the operation ofthe lugs or catches O and P and the spring Q. Fig. 5 III represents aside view, and Fig. 5 IV represents a sectional view, of the leafcarrying arms H. Fig. 6 shows the location and manner of fastening thesteel spring W in the drumst t, and Fig. 7 is a sectional view of thelower portion of the turner taken on the line 77 of Fig. 1.

Similar letters refer to si milar parts throughout the views.

The machine or contrivance is composed first of the base or bar A madeof sufficient size and length to properly fit and rest on the music restof a piano or other like instrument and being fitted with rubber bandsor rings shown by B B for the purpose of hindering it from slipping andalso to prevent its marring the woodwork of the instrument. At itscenter the bar A, or base, is provided with a laterally projectingperforated stud or spur A in which the round hollow tube 0 shown in Fig.1 is placed at right angles to the bar A and is held securely in placeby means of the thumb screw 6. This will admit of the tube 0 and itsattachments being detached from the base or bar Aand its attachments forthe purposes of packing and carrying easily. The tube 0 however may bepermanently affixed to the base A without in any manner affecting thesuccessful operation of the music leaf turner. The tube 0 as statedbefore is hollow and is penetrated by the tube F as indicated by thedotted line in O and by means of the adj usting clamp nutffitted uponthe upper end of the tube 0 said tube F may be adjusted to differentlengths as may be required and the occasion for which will hereinafterbe explained. The hollow tube G fits into the tube F as shown in Fig. 1and rests on and is attached to a strong spiral spring shown by g whichis located in the tube F, the purpose of the tube G and the spring 9being to afford a means whereby when desired the automatic music leafturner when placed on a piano or similar instrument may be securely heldin position by allowing the tube G to spring upward and press againstthe projecting woodwork of the instrument, and h is a rubber cap fittedon the tube G to prevent marring the woodwork when so pressed againstit, and as before stated the tube F may by means of the adjustingclamp-nut f so regulate the length of this portion of the music leafturner as to fit the instrument upon which it is used.

H H H H H H H in Fig.1 represent the fiat leaf carrying arms eachterminating in a circular box at its lower inward end as shown by 'i inFig. 5, and all turning on the central pivot or rod J shown in IV ofFig. 5 which rod extends between the plates Z- and Z. (See Figs. 1 and2.) Between said rod or pivot J' and the inner rim of the circular boxattached to the end of the leaf carrying arm aforementioned is coiled asteel spring as shown in IV Fig. 5 one end of which spring is made fastto the rod J and the other to said inner circular rim of the box inmanner shown by IV of Fig. 5, one of such springs being used for eachleaf carrying arm required and the spring being so adjusted that the armis normally held at the left side of the base A.

To provide a way for winding up the springs and securing the rod J fromturning backward after the springs have been wound up sufficiently tothrow the arms from one side of the holder to the other, the lower endof the rod is journaled or stepped in the lower platel and the upper endabove the upper plate Z is flattened and perforated and provided with asquared portion above the perforation so that after the rod has beenrotated sufficiently to wind up the springs, a screw sis passed throughthe perforation into the upper portion of the spur or projection A whichwill thus secure the rod and its accompanying parts in the desiredposition.

As many leaf carrying arms may be used as can be accommodated on the rodor central pivot J between the plates Z and l.

m in Figs. 1, 2 and 4 represents a hollow tube fitted upon and made fastto the right side of the base A and projecting from it in a position atright angles to the ascending tube 0 and in such a position as to standimmediately in the line of the leaf carrying arms II H H H H H H whendrawn from left to right. The tube on is intersliced down each side inthe manner shown by Fig. 2 of sufficient width and depth to admit of theleaf carrying arms passing down and through the same where they aresecurely held and restrained from returning to their normal position onthe left side of the base A by means of the restraining catch andescapement N in connection with the steel spring Q and the lug or catch0 which engages the arm until slight pressure is made on the lever R(see Figs. 1 and 4) which will cause the restraining catch andescapement N to move forward sufficient to release one leaf carrying armno longer restrained by the lug 0 while the same movement will cause thelug P to restrain and hold the next succeeding leaf carrying arm untilpressure is removed from the lever B causing the restraining catch andescapement N by reason of the spring Q to resume the position itpreviously held as shown in Fig. 4: when the remaining leaf carryingarms will be at once released by the lug P only to be engaged and heldby the lug 0 until pressure is again made on the lever B and in thismanner-the leaf carrying arms may be released only one at a time when byreason of th e spring attachment between the rod J and thceircnlar boxat the lower end of the leaf carrying arms aforementioned the arm willmake a semi-revolution from right to left.

To assist the lug P to enter between the arms II the arms may be notchedat that point, as shown at p, and short knobs or projections k may besecured to the different arms so that they will each engage with theadjacent rod and prevent them from coming close together and therebygive additional room for the lugP to enter between the arms.

The rods designated byr r in Fig. 1 which are attached to the bases ordrums zftfurnish a means whereby the inner side of sheet music or ofbound music may be held and secured while the lower end of each sheet isattached and held to the leaf carrying arm by being placed between theside of the arm proper at S and the steel strip T attached to the arm soas to form a clasp securely holding the sheet in position for turning.

Fig. 1 shows the rods 7 r parted and ready to receive the sheets orbound music while Fig. 3 (III) shows the position they are in whenclosed which is the normal position and in which position they are heldby means of two strong steel springs coiled in the drums t f as shown inFig. 6. These drums turn in such a manner as to admit of the rods beingclosed as in Fig. 3 (III) or parted as shown in Fig. 1. In order to partthe rods to receive the sheets or bound music it is necessary to catchthe handles a 1) shown in Fig. 3 (IV) and press them together until theyreach the position shown by a o in Fig. 1 whereby by reason of theprojecting arm 10 (see IV Fig. 3) from the handle 1; assuming a positionat right angles to and pressing against the tube 0 as shown by win Fig.2 the rods will be held apart for the reception of the sheet or sheetsof music until released when the handles u o and the rods 1 r willresume the position shown in Fig. 3 by reason of the action of thesprings in the drumstfaforementioned.

What we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is

1. In a music-leaf turner, the combination, with abase provided with alateral projection, of a tube secured thereto, a series of springactuated arms pivotally secured at the outer end of the projection, anescapement for releasing the arms, one at a time, a tube within the tubethat is secured to the base, and adapted to project above the upper endthereof, a clamping nut upon the upper end of the first mentioned tubefor adjusting the amount of the tube to project, a spring-actuated rodwithin the inner tube, the upper end of which projects beyond the same,means upon the upper end thereof and upon the base of the device, forpreventing injury to the instrument, substantially as set forth.

2. In a music leaf turner the combination, with a base, with a laterallyprojecting spur near its center, the outer end of which is forked, of arod seated in the lower fork and provided with a flat perforated upperend, the portion above the perforation being provided with means forrotating the rod, a screw through the perforation and into the upperfork, a series of spring-actuated arms pivotally secured to the rod,whereby when the rod is rotated and secured in position the tension ofthe springs is sufficient to swing the arms from one side of the turnerto the other, an escapement for holding the arms at one side of theturner and releasing them one at a time, and a spring actuated rodprojecting upwardly from the base and provided with means for holdingthe turner and automati cally securing it to the instrument,substantially as set forth.

3. In a music-leaf turner, the combination,

IIO

with a base provided with means for holding it to an instrument, of aseries of arms pivotally secured thereto, each of which is notched andprovided with a projecting lug, an escapement for holding the arms andreleasing them 'one at a time, said escapemeut being provided with twolugs, one of which engages with the outer arm, and the other one isadapted to pass between the arms at the notched portion thereof,substantially as set to forth.

JAMES H. SOUTHWELL. ANDREW J. LLOYD. Witnesses:

JOHN BENGSTON, H. E. LUDOLPH.

